BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana basketball is scheduled to play at one of college basketball’s most historic arenas during the 2024-25 season.
Indiana will play Penn State on Jan. 5 at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Penn., as first reported by Jon Rothstein. This will count as a home game for Penn State during Big Ten conference play. Game time and TV information has not been announced.
Opened in 1927, The Palestra is located on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus and is the home arena for the Penn Quakers men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as volleyball and wrestling.
Capacity for basketball games is 8,722, though it used to house around 10,000. A museum celebrating the history of Philadelphia basketball was added to The Palestra as part of a $2 million renovation in 2000.
The Palestra is especially relevant in college basketball lore. It is the oldest major college arena still in use today and has hosted more games, more visiting teams and more NCAA tournaments than any other facility, according to visitphilly.com.
Known as the Philadelphia Big 5, local universities including Penn, St. Joseph’s, Temple, La Salle and Villanova used to play all of their games at The Palestra. Though that is no longer the case, The Palestra is still used at times by those schools, as well as Penn State, Drexel, the Ivy League and others.
All of that rich history has led to The Palestra gaining the nickname “The Cathedral of College Basketball.” On Thursday, college basketball analyst Andy Katz ranked The Palestra No. 7 on his list of the top 10 arenas.
“It is one of the true gems of the sports world,” Jay Bilas of ESPN said. “Right up there with Wrigley Field.”
Penn State enters its second season under coach Mike Rhoades, who guided the Nittany Lions to a 16-17 overall record, a 9-11 mark in Big Ten play and a 2-1 record against Indiana. Penn State missed the NCAA Tournament in Rhoades’ first season, but it returns several key players, including Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.2 ppg), Zach Hicks (8.4 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (8.7 ppg), Puff Johnson (7.3 ppg), D’Marco Dunn (6.8 ppg).
